New Delhi: Sir Garfield Sobers, better known as Gary Sobers, turned 81 on Friday. The legendary West Indian all-rounder is considered by many experts including the likes of Ian Chappell, Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri as the greatest cricketer ever. His record speaks for itself. Sobers scored over 8,000 runs in 93 Test matches at an average of over 57.


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He also picked up 235 Test wickets at an average of under 35. In terms of averages, only Jacques Kallis matches up with Sobers if you look at batting all-rounders who have played a significant number of matches. Kallis played over 160 Test matches, averaging over 55 with the bat and under 33 with the ball.


But what made Sobers unique was that he not only was a run machine but was super aggressive in his batting style. He scored tons of runs and scored them really fast to get his team into match-winning positions. Sobers was also special as a bowler in the sense that at the Test level itself, he bowled seam up, orthodox spin as well as chinaman. He was a left hander, both with bat and ball.


So the question is that is Sobers the greatest cricketer who has ever lived? Experts believe that generally speaking there are only two cricketers who are genuine contenders for being the greatest cricketer who has ever lived. There is Sobers and there is Don Bradman.


Bradman is unique because in a career that spanned two decades like that of Sobers, he averaged over 99 with the bat after playing over 50 Test matches. No cricketer who has played a decent length of time managed to get to those heights.


It is debatable on who is the greater cricketer among the two, both being special and unique in their own way. But the one thing that is unquestioned, at least by most experts, is that these two are the two greatest cricketers we have known.